Monday, November 2, 2015

GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE FIRST ARC INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY!!!!

No matter how many charms she
buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning,
horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time the
rollercoaster jumped off its tracks. Or the time the house next door
caught on fire. Or that time her brother, father, and uncle were all
killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch.

It’s safest for Maguire to hide out in her room, where she can cause
less damage and avoid meeting new people who she could hurt. But then
she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star. Jordy is confident, talented,
and lucky, and he’s convinced he can help Maguire break her unlucky
streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can do for Jordy is to
stay away. But it turns out staying away is harder than she thought.

From author Paula Stokes comes a funny and poignant novel about
accepting the past, embracing the future, and learning to make your own
luck.

Hey guys! Today I am more than happy and honoured to be part of the shared FIRST INTERNATIONAL ARC GIVEAWAY for Girl Against The Universe by Paula Stokes! You'll be introduced to one of my favourite characters in the book (oh boy, she made me laugh so much!) and DO NOT forget about the chance to win the very first ARC in the giveaway!!

I have been one of the lucky ones to read it early and I fell head over heels in love with the story, and Maguire, Jade, Penn, Jordy and the rest of the crew!

There's a great balance between the more serious parts of the book and the absolutely delightful banterfluff moments (banterfluff is one of my fave maybe-words coined by Debby from Snuggly Oranges).

I've recently re-read it and it managed to make me tear up again, make laugh out loud and shake my head, swoon and go all "aweeeeeeeeeeee!!" and simply adored this book as much or maybe even a lil bit more than the first time I read it! I've already have it preordered and I just cannot wait till I can add a finished copy to my library room!

Now over to Paula so she can tell you all about my fave character!!

Paula: Jade is the first friend Maguire makes at her new school. She
gets a lot of the book’s funniest lines and steals practically every
scene she’s in. (She’s an aspiring stage actress, so I guess that makes
sense, right?) Jade and Maguire have an honest and mutually supportive
friendship that develops slowly throughout the book. Here’s more info on
Jade:

A
tall Asian girl wearing patterned kneesocks and a black tennis dress
emblazoned with purple geometric shapes makes her way up the bleachers,
scanning the rows like she’s looking for someone. She was also in my
sixth-hour class. She sat in the back with me and redid her nail polish
behind her book for most of the period.

“Bloody hell,” she says
to no one in particular, in what I think is a British accent. “I cannot
believe I’m going to spend all semester with you turnips.” She passes
everyone up and comes to sit by me. “You’re the new girl, yeah?” she
asks. “Maguire?”

“Yeah.” I scoot a little bit away as she drops
her tennis bag on the ground. It’s more of a plain duffel strategically
cut and sewn to convert it to a racquet bag. Tiny patches with slogans
like “I think, therefore I am (better than you)” and “Death to pop
music” cover the front of it. “Right then,” she says. “I’m Jade.”
She dusts off the bleachers with one hand before sitting down. She’s
got fresh black and silver polish on every nail except for her thumb,
which is adorned with a sunflower decal.

“Jade.” I scoot back
toward her. “Nice to meet you.” Okay, so it’s totally dumb to like
someone for her name, but jade is lucky in several different cultures.
I’m counting this as a good omen.

Sooo, that was our introduction to Jade, and trust me... it only gets better (and funnier)!
Now, are you guys ready for the giveaway??

Paula Stokes writes
stories about flawed characters with good hearts who sometimes make bad
decisions. She’s the author of several YA novels, most recently Liars,
Inc. and The Art of Lainey. Her writing has been translated into eleven
foreign languages. Paula loves kayaking, hiking, reading, and seeking
out new adventures in faraway lands She also loves interacting with
readers. Find her online at authorpaulastokes.com or on twitter as
@pstokesbooks.

I only read "The art of Lainey" but I can't wait for this book. I love the cover and the synopsis sound fun and a breath of fresh air in contemporary YA. Thank you so much for this international giveaway!

LOL. All the caps! I love your post title. Maguire is an interesting name, no? I think I'll give this one a shot but I've got low expectations when it comes to YA contemporary. Glad to hear that you loved it, Pili!

Jade and I share the same last name weeeeeeeee~!! I'm happy yayy~ Lol ok I sound like a crazy person XD I seriously love the cover! It's so cute! Ripple and I are super excited!! Thank you Paula and Pili for sharing everything <3 <3

I am SO in love with this cover! The fact that they chose to use a tennis field FROM ABOVE is wonderful! I don't think I've ever seen that before on a book cover. And the field is, like, sideways. That gives an amazing effect. It looks so much more pretty than when the field had been drawn straight (on the cover I mean).

I was sold on Jade the minute Paula said they have a great friendship between them! I hope to see an awesome friendship like Bianca and Lainey's was in The Art of Lainey <3 Plus I love that Jade is Asian! Yay for diverse characters. :)

In LAINEY, I almost wished that more focus had been on Bianca and Lainey's relationship, so I can't wait to see how the relationship between Jade and Maguire will be portrayed! Positive female friendship in YA is always a good thing. :D